OTTAWA—Michael Ignatieff for the first time expressed his despair over his failure to win power for the Liberals but predicted some young party member will someday accomplish what he could not.

“I didn’t get there,” the former Liberal leader told several thousand party faithful at their convention in Ottawa Friday. “God knows I tried. I didn’t leave anything on the table, but I didn’t get there.”

It was his first political speech since he stepped down as leader after the Liberals’ disastrous showing in the May election.

But he said some young Liberal will eventually lead the federal party back into government in Ottawa.

“Never give up, never give in, fight for what you believe in,” Ignatieff said forcefully, addressing his remarks to this imagined leader of the future. “I didn’t get there but you will, and when you do, everything I tried to do will be worthwhile.”

On the first night of the Liberals’ weekend convention, Ignatieff disputed the notion put forward by author Peter Newman that the Liberal party’s day has passed in Canada. “What is he talking about,” Ignatieff blared to widespread applause.

He said the Liberal party is at the heart of Canada’s economic, social and political life and will remain so. Contrasting his party with the Conservatives, Ignatieff said Canadians want leaders who will promote “green energy rather than dirty oil” and will “build schools, not jails.” In an echo of the lines he used during the election campaign, he said the party favours “a Canada of generosity and compassion” and will eventually win the hearts of more voters.

Before he spoke, young Liberals announced they are putting together a scholarship in Ignatieff’s name to help post-secondary students.

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